Heritage and Love
by Kiryu2012
Summary: Twilight is unsure of Spike's true heritage, so the two head to Canterlot to find the truth. While there, Spike begins to grow attached to the night, as well as the Princess of that time...
1. Chapter 1

Twilight Sparkle sat upon her bed, her horn glowing a dim purple as she read through the pages of the book before her. The unicorn paid no attention to anything else as she read silently.

She was reading for a reason. A very special reason. Except it had nothing to do with whatever spell Princess Celestia may have sent her, or a special objective she needed to do.

It had to do with Spike.

As time went on, things have been changing. It was Rarity who now swooned over Spike, Rainbow Dash had finally gained her dream and joined the Wonderbolts(and may have even caught Soarin's eye), the civilians of Ponyville now accepted Princess Luna into their society with open arms, and Twilight had been learning new and new spells, such as shapeshifting and size change.

Recently, however, Twilight noticed something about Spike. A normal dragon like himself would've had an almost serpentine body shape, arms and legs that were equally long to allow them to move on twos or fours equally, head crests that stuck out tall, and an overall slim but muscular body structure.

Spike, on the other hoof, grew differently. His legs were quite a bit longer than his arms, and he always moved on two legs instead. His head spikes didn't grow that much, and his body structure was different. It was bulkier, muscular, but more built like an elephantine creature instead. His muzzle was also strange. It wasn't thin, crooked like a dragon's, but rather broad and rounded, more like an alligator or a shark. His back spines stuck out from his back like jagged stones, and his tail was crocodilian and thick, not thin and whip-like.

What made this so confusing was that not only did dragons not grow like this, but because pretty much everypony knew what Spike looked like as an adult, as proven by his growth spurt caused by greed incident. So how he was growing stumped Twilight, and thus she took to the books, reading everything there was to know about dragon biology, including how they grew and what types there were.

The problem? Twilight could find no answer. Nothing she read could explain Spike's new look, and it especially didn't help his new personality. As a hatchling, Spike was, well, childish, and was okay with calling himself "a pony in a dragon's body".

Now, however, he acted differently. He seemed to prefer things like fighting and action, and at times would go out into the Everfree Forest and remain out there for several days. Of course, this worried Twilight, and she was almost tempted to send a letter to the Princesses for assistance.

With a frustrated sigh, Twilight closed her book, placing it back where she took it as she looked out her window. Spike had grown too big for his bed, and now liked to sleep outside, though he at times would cuddle up with Twilight in her bed. The lavender unicorn sighed once more, wanting an answer for what was happening to Spike.

Spike slept peacefully on the ground beside the treehouse. He loved Twilight like his own sister, and he held everypony he knew in Ponyville dearly in his heart. However, things have changed. He no longer liked being penned up indoors, and the idea of battle filled him with a primal excitement. No matter what, though, he would always come back for Twilight, even if things have changed over the years.

Suddenly, Spike's nostrils twitched involuntarily. Eyes snapping open, the dragon stood up, a low growl rising from his throat. He sensed an intruder.

Indeed, stepping forward from the darkness came a large Utahraptor. The massive dromeasaur, the biggest of all raptor species, snarled as it spread its claws. The therapod had come into this town to find an easy meal, and may have potentially found it in the form of this strange reptile. Spike huffed as he beat the ground with his tail. He wouldn't back down without a fight.

The Utahraptor hissed before suddenly charging forward. Spike had other plans, however, and sidestepped the incoming predator, before swinging his head forward, biting down on the raptor's head. Panicking for a moment, the raptor swiped its claws at Spike's neck, but this did nothing more than surprise Spike, who let go. The raptor jumped back, hissing in anger as its claws failed to leave even a scratch on Spike. The two reptiles circled each other, snarling and baring their claws, neither willing to back down.

Twilight woke up with a start, hearing the sounds of battle outside. Rising from her bed, the mare quickly moved to her window, opening it up and seeing with complete horror and shock of what was transpiring below.

The Utahraptor fell upon Spike in a flurry of swipes, thirsting to see Spike's blood spill. However, the assault did nothing more than increase Spike's anger, and the dragon lashed out with a swipe of his claws, the daggers slicing through the raptor's chest like butter. The smaller predator leaped back with a yelp, blood trickling from the gashes. Spike took a step forward, before punching the Utahraptor across the face, knocking it right off its feet and sending it tumbling across the ground.

The Utahraptor rolled back upright, before running forward, slamming its full weight into Spike, before biting down on his neck, struggling to inflict any sort of damage. However, it was all in vain, for the raptor's teeth broke on impact, and Spike didn't even flinch. Spike kneed the raptor hard in the stomach, making it wheeze and back off, allowing Spike to headbutt his opponent in the side, knocking it off its feet and onto its side. Spike raised a taloned foot before stomping down on the raptor's side, digging his talons in deep before pulling down, ripping open the raptor's side. Howling painfully, the raptor struggled until Spike bit down on the raptor's neck, snapping it like a twig and releasing it, letting the Utahraptor's limp body fall to the ground.

Spike roared out in victory, blood of his fallen foe flying from his maw. The dragon then glanced up at Twilight, looking her straight in the eyes. The two stared at one another for what felt like hours, before Spike slowly lay down, curling up and falling back asleep.

Twilight shut the window and pressed her back against it, wide-eyed.

Yep. She should show the Princesses about this.


	2. Chapter 2

The sunlight peaked over the window, casting beams of light into the room. As the light began to spread as the sun emerged from the horizon, guided by Celestia, the darkness receded, revealing an equine shape in a bed with the covers in a tangled mess.

Just as the light began to touch her eyes, Luna awoke with a yawn, rubbing a hoof against her right eye as she sat up, smiling as her sister's sun rose into the sky. After a moment of emerging from her bed and fixing herself up, the Princess of the night began walking down the hallway.

Her mind had been elsewhere from what one might think of her. She didn't think of things like politics, or her subjects, or even much about Equestria's history for that matter. No, she thought of things more…personal.

Everypony knew the story of how Luna had been trapped on the moon as Nightmare Moon for a thousand years. What they didn't know, however, was what being isolated for all those years could do to somepony. Not bring them to insanity, but something more personal than that.

Luna soon shook that thought away. Why was she worried about that? She had been just fine all those years, and didn't need it anytime soon.

With that, Luna continued her walk down the hall. Her sister might've needed her assistance.

"Are you sure we need to do this?" Spike asked as he watched Twilight write something in a scroll. As he directly behind her, he could not tell what she was writing.

"Of course, Spike," Twilight replied as she rolled up the scroll. "If there's anypony who may know why you're like this, it's Celestia. Now, send this note to Celestia to let her know."

Without saying anything, Spike simply took the note and released a puff of emerald flames, sending the note away.

Princess Celestia stood out on the balcony, looking down upon Equestria with a smile. Ever since the events of the Changeling attack and the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, things have been great. The alicorn simply took in the joy the land offered, and she loved it.

Suddenly, in a green flash, a scroll appeared before her. Instinctively catching it with her magic, Celestia unrolled the scroll, already knowing who it was from as she began reading:

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I have noticed something strange about Spike. He seems to grow differently from other dragons, and is starting to no longer resemble a dragon. I was hoping you would know what this means, so me and Spike are going to visit Canterlot later this day. Hopefully you can provide me with some answers._

_Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle._

Celestia rolled up the scroll as she walked back inside. She knew this would happen soon, and she was ready to help with Twilight's problem.

Spike looked out the window as he and Twilight were currently in a cart on a train. They had decided to take a train to Canterlot, and since pretty much everypony now knew who Twilight and Spike were, they treated them like they were of royalty and allowed them to be seated near the front of the train.

"Do you think Celestia will have an answer?" Spike asked, looking back towards Twilight as the unicorn smiled at him.

"Of course she will, Spike. She is the one that found you as an egg."

Spike thought for a moment. That was indeed true, for Celestia had told him as a hatchling how she discovered his egg all alone in a forest. So perhaps she did know about his true origin.

His thoughts were soon interrupted, though, when he looked up and saw that they had arrived at their destination. Spike watched on as the train slowed to a halt before the station, before he and Twilight left the train alongside the other passengers in the train.

The duo walked down the streets of Canterlot, towards the towers in the distance.

"Luna, is it necessary to allow them to stay?" Celestia asked as she and Luna walked down the stairway from the tower.

"Why, sure! They never get the chance to stay in Canterlot without any major disasters happening, so it'll be a treat to have them here." Luna stated this with confidence as the sisters began walking past the other ponies, who of course showed all respect in their presence.

"Very well," Celestia replied with a smile. "They are welcome to stay if they wish."

Luna smiled in joy, before her attention was caught by Twilight and Spike. Or, more specifically, by Spike.

For a moment, Luna just stared. She stared at his muscular body, his vibrant purple scales, his spines emerging from behind, his emerald eyes shining in the sunlight-

Luna blushed lightly as she regained herself. What was she thinking? She was a princess and he was a dragon. Besides, his heart was already for Rarity, so he certainly wouldn't be that interested in her.

Twilight smiled as she spotted Celestia and Luna, Spike blinking with surprise at the sight of Luna before Twilight eagerly went to her mentor.

"Greetings, Celestia," Twilight said, making sure she was proper in every way. "I hope we didn't take too long."

"Of course not, Twilight," Celestia replied warmly as she took in Spike. "I see Spike has indeed changed.

Spike nodded with a smile, before he turned his attention towards Luna.

"I never got to see you that much since that one Nightmare Night," Spike stated as he moved closer to Luna. "You're the princess of the night, right?"

"The only one," Luna said, unable to look away from Spike. "You're Twilight's assistant?"

"Yep," Spike said with a nod. "Her so-called 'number one assistant'."

Luna chuckled at this, before Celestia stepped towards Spike.

"I guess you have been wondering where you really came from?"

Spike somewhat shrugged at this. "Well, more like Twilight wants to know. I just wanna know why I don't look like any of the other dragons. Is that normal?"

"I will explain it all later this day. You're welcome to stay a few nights if you wish."

"Sure!" Twilight said gleefully as she followed her mentor to the towers. Luna and Spike walked side-by-side, and Luna couldn't help but keep glancing at the dragon.

She was starting to feel it after all these years…


	3. Chapter 3

Twilight could hardly contain her excitement as she and Celestia walked down a long hall, shelves filled to the brim with books telling of the ancient times around them. They had been walking for what felt like hours, but really was only a few minutes. Twilight couldn't tell what most of the books said, but some appeared to be about ancient creatures.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Celestia suddenly halted before a large door. Grabbing onto the knob with her magic, the alicorn opened the door wide. Within the surprisingly large room, Twilight saw a large array of books atop several large shelves made of a stone-like material.

Twilight's eyes drifted to her right, and she saw something covered by a large cloth. She couldn't tell what it was, but she didn't have much time to think about it as Celestia looked down at her.

"This is where all your answers can be found," Celestia stated as she lifted up a nearby book with her magic and levitated it towards Twilight. The unicorn caught it and looked at the cover, which showed a skeleton of some kind of creature. The skeleton seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't recall what exactly it was.

Celestia slowly walked towards the cloth-covered something as she continued speaking: "Spike's family goes back much further than any creature known, more so than even dragons."

Twilight paused, confusion written on her face. "What are you talking about? Spike _is_ a dragon." Celestia faced her student at this. "That is only half true. As I said, Spike's family goes further than any dragon."

Via her magic, Celestia pulled the cloth off the thing it was covering, revealing a skull laying on a wooden table. The skull was large, with a rounded snout similar to an alligator's. Its mouth was filled with dagger-like teeth that were serrated at the edges. Large opening lay between its eyes and nostrils, and there were several openings along the skull that may have been used for muscle attachment. Twilight could only stare, struggling to come up with a name for the creature whose skull this belonged to.

"Princess, what is this? What are you talking about?"

Celestia looked down at Twilight, a look of wisdom on her face. "It's the time I should tell you the truth."

Spike and Luna walked alongside one another as they moved through the Canterlot gardens. Celestia suggested that they should spend some time with each other, as they hardly ever met before. Luna took the time to view her dragon friend. She didn't know why, but something about him seemed so…alluring to her. She never had her own special somepony for thousands of years, so perhaps –

"So where do you think we should go?"

Luna blinked, startled out of her thoughts, before pushing them to the back of her mind as she looked to Spike, who had his attention on her. "I suppose we can go where you probably haven't been during the Gala," Luna replied. Spike tilted his head in confusion as he followed the princess.

Luna led Spike into part of the gardens Spike recognized as the same place that Fluttershy had went during the Gala. However, Luna didn't stop here; she kept going into a wall of foliage. Shrugging, Spike followed.

After a moment, Spike emerged from the brush and made it up to Luna, who was looking out over a hill. "Have you ever been here before, Spike?"

Spike's eyes widened in amazement by what he saw. The land before him was a vast jungle-like land, tropical-looking trees reaching high into the sky, and all kinds of exotic plants and creatures moving through the canopies. In the center of the land was a large river, with a pair of rivers emerging from its sides. But this was not what gained Spike's awareness. It was the creatures that lived amongst the plants.

Because they were dinosaurs.

Sauropods plodded in massive herds by the lake and grasslands. Hadrosaurs browsed in the forested regions. Stegosaurs remained in random spots here and there, feeding on ferns and twigs. And in the outer regions of the forest, massive theropods stalked the area, clearly ready for a meal.

"What is this place?" Spike asked, unable to look away.

"This is where we keep any ancient creatures found, in order to save them from extinction," Luna replied as Spike slowly began to walk down the hill. "We have creatures from the dawn of time to the last ice age living across this land. This may help you with some of your questions."

Spike was about to reply, when suddenly he paused, stepping back as if receiving a physical blow. Memories were flooding his mind like a wave, filling his mind with images of him living alongside these creatures, hunting them, watching them, stalking them, roaring out to the moon and sleeping under the stars. But these weren't his memories as he felt them. They were instead from his ancestors, all seeing what he was seeing from millions of years back and surviving to now.

Luna placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder as the 'dragon' had knelt over from the memory rush. "I see you're remembering." Spike looked up at her as he began to stand up. "I don't know why, but I feel like I may not be who I am. I think I might –"

Spike was caught off when a large shape suddenly burst from the bushes behind them. The beast bit down on Luna's back, shredding flesh with dagger-like teeth. As blood spilled over Luna's frame, Spike acted on instinct and swiped at the face of the attacker. This surprised the assailant, who dropped Luna to the ground and faced Spike.

It was a massive beast, standing on its hind legs and towering over Spike. Its grayish skin hung across its skin, and dark tiger-like stripes ran down its back, all the way to its long muscular tail. Its small, but powerful, arms flexed their two claws threateningly. Its head ended in a long muzzle filled with serrated teeth. Its fiery orange eyes stared.

A word for this creature came rushing to Spike from millions of years ago. From when his ancestors ruled.

Tyrannosaurus Rex.

It was strange, staring at this monster. He felt an odd connection with the massive theropod, like he and it shared very much in common. Still, he must protect Luna at whatever cost.

Spike and the T-rex circled one another, snarling and baring their teeth at one another. After a moment, the T-rex turned and charged at Spike, releasing a mighty bellow into the sky as he moved. Spike raised his arms into a cross in front of himself just as the Tyrannosaur came down upon him, jaws open wide. The reptile's maw clamped down on Spike's right arm hard. Unlike the Utahraptor, however, the Rex's jaws crunched down through the scales into the flesh, warm blood gushing out. Spike roared out in shock and pain as he attempted to pull back, but the T-rex's jaws held on tightly.

Spike squirmed, knowing if he didn't act soon he would end up losing his arm. Raising his left arm, Spike clawed away at the T-rex's face, eventually making it let go, blood trickling down its face. Spike pressed his advantage, ramming into the dinosaur shoulder-first and biting down on its neck. The T-rex snarled, swinging its head around, pulling free from Spike before bashing him in the face with its skull. The T-rex snapped at Spike, but the 'dragon' managed to punch the theropod in the face, making it stop as Spike struck him several more times, managing to push him backwards away from Luna.

Spike looked back, watching as Luna lay still, breathing shallowly as blood flowed steadily from the gash on her back. He knew he had to get her away from here as soon as possible, but he couldn't do that yet, for the T-rex bit down on his shoulder, applying enough force to crack the bones in his shoulder. Spike howled out in pain, before punching the Tyrannosaur hard in the face again and again, making it let go and step back. Spike's tail coiled around the T-rex's throat and yanked, pulling the predator off its feet and sending it falling onto its side.

Spike slammed his tail down onto the Tyrannosaur as much as possible, until the T-rex reached up and bit down on the limb, tearing the arrow tip off. Spike screamed as blood gushed from his tail, his cries of pain awakening Luna, who lifted her head up at the sight of Spike staggering back. "Spike…"

The T-rex headbutted Spike in the chest, making him nearly fall over, before the Tyrannosaur swiped at Spike's face with its claws, leaving a pair of cuts across Spike's brow. Spike managed to jump back as the T-rex snapped at him with his jaws, before inhaling deeply and breathing out a stream of flames, engulfing the Tyrannosaur in emerald light. The T-rex roared, before charging through the flames, biting down on Spike's throat and cutting off the fire. The T-rex lifted up Spike into the air, and shook him around viciously. The T-rex then slammed Spike down on the ground, before raising up a taloned foot and stomping down on Spike's head, crushing it into the ground.

The T-rex looked towards Luna, slowly stepping away from Spike and moving towards the wounded alicorn. Luna could only watch in horror as the tyrannosaur's jaws opened wide, saliva dripping from its dagger teeth as the beast stood above its prey.

Spike slowly raised his head up, blood trickling from his mouth as he saw the T-rex about to finish Luna. As he watched the Tyrannosaur begin to reach down to crush Luna in two between its jaws, something snapped inside of him. Immediately he felt the power of his ancestors flowing through him, and he forgot about his own injuries as he rose.

Spike let out an ear-piercing roar which caused all creatures to lift their heads towards him, including the T-rex. Spike rammed the T-rex hard, sending the Tyrannosaurus tumbling across the ground. Spike bit down on the Rex's neck, shaking him violently and slamming him down into the ground, before lifting him up again and flinging him into a boulder, making it crack in half. The T-rex slowly rose to its feet, staring Spike square in the eyes. For a moment, the two reptiles stared at one another, unmoving, not making a single sound.

Finally, the Tyrannosaurus Rex turned and walked away, giving Spike one last glance before disappearing into the jungle.

Spike let out the sigh he had been containing, seeing his blood drop to the ground and leave small little puddles. Then he remembered, and ran up to Luna, kneeling beside her as she looked up at him. "I'm sorry for bringing you into this mess." She began.

"No. It's my fault," Spike stated. "I should've been the one to be in your position. I can take slightly more punishment."

Spike picked up Luna and set her gently on his back. "We need to get back to the castle." Spike then ran off, moving in a horizontal stance as he ran. The 'dragon' managed to head back through the entrance to the other world, and back towards the castle. Gathering up her magic, Luna teleported Spike and herself into Luna's room. Spike gently set Luna down on her back, and Luna lifted up a nearby bottle with her magic. Tilting it gently, several drops of blue liquid fell upon the gashes, sealing them back up and healing the wounds.

Spike sat down beside Luna as the alicorn dropped more of the ointment on him, healing him up as well. The 'dragon' closed his eyes and sighed, exhausted from the incident. Luna couldn't help but scoot closer to her savior, wrapping an arm around him and pull him into a hug. Spike's eyes opened wide in surprise as he felt Luna's hot breath on his neck.

Luna began nibbling at Spike's ear scale, rubbing his chest with her hoof. Spike quickly saw what she wanted as he let himself lay back, realizing just what a thousand years on the moon can do to a woman. Luna kissed Spike with a fiery passion, sliding her frame over his. Spike wrapped his arms around Luna, pulling her deeper into their kiss. Luna panted as they pulled free, before her horn glowed and covered the surrounding room in darkness.

Spike awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. Last night had been simply wonderful. Spike felt movement, before Luna gently hugged him, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"I think we should meet up with Twilight and Celestia," Spike stated as he emerged from the bed. "They must have an answer already." Luna seemed to pout a little, before standing up from the bed as well. "I suppose you're right."

Some time later, Luna and Spike spotted Celestia and Twilight talking beside a shelf of books, which depicted several types of carnivorous dinosaurs. Twilight spotted the duo and trotted up to them, hugging Spike in the process.

Celestia approached the two with a smile. "Did you two have a fun time?"

Spike struggled to come up with an excuse, but luckily Luna came in: "We were just fine. Now, about Spike's history…"

"We were just getting to that." Celestia stepped in front of Spike, looking him straight in the eyes. "You see Spike, your family history goes further back than even the dragon. You might be confused, but the reason I say this is because you're not entirely a dragon."

Spike blinked in shock. "I'm not?"

Celestia nodded slightly as she began speaking: "It's a long story:

You see Spike, I found not just your egg, but also your parents. Just as you were born, your mother was killed and eaten by your father, who had left long ago. I studied your DNA some time after Twilight had hatched you, and I saw just who your father was."

Celestia levitated up the skull Twilight had seen, and held it before Spike. "This is the skull of the species your father is from: Tyrannosaurus Rex."

Spike's jaw dropped as he took in the information. His father? A Tyrannosaur?! His family line had lasted for millions of years?!

"Wait, so I'm part T-rex? How is that possible?! I can't –"

"Spike, please remain calm. Believe it or not, I couldn't believe it as well. But as it turns out, both dragons and theropods are viral species, and can successfully breed with any creature of similar size to continue their generations. And you are the first recorded hybrid of a dragon/dinosaur breeding."

"That's…unbelievable." That was all Spike could say as he stared at the Rex skull. Then, after a moment, he began to chuckle. He was from a long history of a dominating species. He was essentially a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Thank you for helping us with our issue, Celestia," Twilight said as she stepped beside Spike. "I never thought of that before."

"It's no trouble, Twilight. Anything you may have trouble with, you can come to me for help."

Spike couldn't stop smiling. At last he and Twilight got their answers.


End file.
